Here's a recent blog.....This is the writing of an obvious ignorant woman, so, to Helen Ford from Charleyne Stumpf....."education is pertinent in order for me to respect your opinion, you obviously have no education, therefore have not earned my respect."

Helen Ford Says: January 22nd, 2007 at 9:43 am One suggestion, although not Politically Correct, place the adolescents who are on psych meds in an environment all their own. They obviously have trouble mixing in with the general population, who have enough to cope with as it is.

Hi All,

I realize not all of you have children, or young children in school.......nevermind a child with a special need, and/or on any type of medication, (maybe you have a sibling or a friend that this matter could effect) however, this unfortunate event concerns me. The seriousness and capability that this subject has, of creating a false sense of fear among Special Needs children, is alarming...I am not saying that the death of a high school student should be ignored, however, I was under the impression that we are all innocent until we are proven guilty. All of the facts are not even out yet, and many are speculating and persecuting this mentally challenged boy prematurely. The potential for negative media in regard to the (an already feared) special needs community is apparent, so I am asking you to slow down and think before you judge.

I cannot control the general public and/or media, so I am simply asking you to not succumb immediately to negative conversations, articles and blogs.....I am not asking you to support either side, I am just asking you to educate yourselves on this disorder if, and/or before you make, and/or express your opinion, whatever it may be, based upon your own personal beliefs. If you have any questions or concerns, call or emil me, I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. If I don't know the answer, I will find it for you. You can also contact Sue Loring who is the director of the Autism Resource Center in West Boylston. I am sure she would also be happy to answer your questions in regard to Asberger's Syndrome, Autism and / or PDD. Sue can be emailed at sloring@hmea.org

If this occurance is turned into a media circus, although 99.9% of every violent action in schools across the United States, was perputrated by "typical" children.......without even hearing the facts, those who are ignorant are discarding the previous, and are suggesting that this wouldn't have occured if there was (and now should be implemented ) segregation of children on meds, and probably any child on Autism Spectrum (FYI, there is a very small percentage of children on the spectrum who are on medication, so please, do not immediately assume if you know of a child with an Autism diagnosis, that they are on medication)..... Is this woman suggesting to implement an addendum to patient confidentiality and all of our children's medical history can be disclosed to each year's classmate's parents, or do we now begin discriminating against only those who are on medication and mandate disclosure? Will this spill over to disclosure of our medical history in our workplaces as well? Maybe Helen's medical history should be posted on the web for all of us to view......wouldn't that be embarrassing if the all knowing Helen ever had a STD?

If we need to segregate kids on psych meds, how many ADD, ADHD, BiPolar, etc. children are there in our schools who are on Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, Stratera, etc.? I thought our society was supposed to progress, not digress.......It's one thing to have "Peanut Free Classrooms" but this kind of intelligence is absurd and I hope some of you agree, I know not all of you will and that's ok with me. I thought we overcame segregation many years ago. Do the desegregation laws only pertain to color?

Thank you for your time.

Charleyne

This is a poem I wrote to my son:

My Little Inspiration

This wasn't the path I dreamed you would take

With each day that goes on, there is far more at stake

Autism is unknown, to others around

They think that you're spoiled, strange, or wound

The day that you changed and joined your own world

I thought I would die, the reality was something unheard

We saw doctor after doctor, test after test

Eight long months later, the doctors could attest

He is "on the Spectrum" I heard, but didn't understand

"Can you speak English to me"...I did demand

PDD, EI, IEP, as these acronyms were introduced

Your world was looking better to me, I could not deduce

I put you on a bus when you were 2 years of age

School, an hour away, I had to trust those who were strange

I cried longer than you, I actually still do

We have a long road to travel, me and you

Doctors said one thing, SPED gave another

My frustration was obvious, sometimes wondered why I bothered

I did not back down then and never will

I can attest to your progress, your battle is uphill

The teachers/therapists at school have played a huge part

Of your development and growth, how do I thank them, don't know where to start

Welcome to FR, Charleyne. This can be a rough place on newcomers, so take my word that the following advice is meant most kindly.

This is a sort of post known as a "vanity" - that's generally considered rather bad-mannered (especially for a newcomer) here inasmuch as this properly belongs as a posting to the thread that you provided as a reference. The title is painfully misspelled, not a happy thing for a posting purporting to educate people. Perhaps the Admin Moderator might fix it for you if you ask him/her. The site (and most word processors) do provide a spell-checker, which would enhance the impact of the text portion immensely. The poem is lovely.

As to the actual particulars of the case, I do not think it is entirely a rush to judgment to state that a young fellow who slashed another's throat and came into the presence of a dozen witnesses covered in blood and exclaiming "I didn't want him to die!" may in fact be guilty of some rather distressing behavior. What his medical condition had to do with that I shall not presume to judge even from a lay person's perspective but that really isn't the point if it's your son laying on the ground bleeding to death.

Averaging the above numbers and plugging them in to the Strouhal equation for cruising flight (fA/U = 7 beats per second * 0.18 meters per beat / 9.5 meters per second) yields a Strouhal number of roughly 0.13:

Although a definitive answer would of course require further measurements, published species-wide averages of wing length and body mass, initial Strouhal estimates based on those averages and cross-species comparisons, the Lund wind tunnel study of birds flying at a range of speeds, and revised Strouhal numbers based on that study all lead me to estimate that the average cruising airspeed velocity of an unladen European Swallow is roughly 11 meters per second, or 24 miles an hour.

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